At face value the
compromise on a Department of Education announced by Senate President Emil
Jones, Senator Miguel Del Valle and Governor Rod Blagojevich satisfies the
requirement to maintain a State Board of Education set forth in the
Constitution. But it still guts the intent that the board be comprised of a
non-partisan body of people who will be an independent entity of the
Governor.

Just this week - the
Governor admitted that an effort to reconstitute the board would be "ripe for
politics and gridlock and more bureaucratic morass, not less, and no
accountability."

Then his tune changed.
Suddenly the board concept equates to accountability?

The at-will language
regarding board appointments that allows the Governor to fire and hire members
at his pleasure ensures that an independent thinker – a person who might
actually put children and our schools’ needs above political agendas – would
surely be a short-termer.

As the board and I remarked
back in January, this Governor’s plan for education is not about improving our
schools, about driving achievement, about increasing student performance, this
is about control of the system.

Clearly, this is about
politics.

This new “accountable
board” I suspect is exactly the politically right type of accountability that he
desires. And, I suppose it also provides the right type of political cover so
that when we don’t see test scores improve, he can just point his finger at his
board and then dispose of them. Or an even more frightening thought, is that
with a few changes to formulaic definitions, suddenly we have the illusion that
there is more money going to the classroom, fewer schools in financial duress
and less schools in corrective action.

Again – this is not about
accountability – this is about control.

Two crystal clear examples
of this include the proposed demise of the Public Information and the Legal
Departments. Our legal department has saved the state countless dollars by
ending outside contracts and keeping legal matters in house. Our attorneys on a
daily basis advise local school board members, parents, superintendents and
administrators on legal issues important to them. Their answers always reflect
the law. Our Public Information Department provides similar assistance beyond
answering the dozens of calls from the press daily, they also field thousands of
calls monthly from parents and administrators and route them to the area where
there answer can best be found; they direct them to resources available on the
ISBE web site; they make everything that the State Boarddoes available through the web site;
they readily make resources available from ISBE on the web site; they save the
state hundreds of thousands of dollars by producing educational CD-ROMs; and
they promote our quality programs and teachers.

Wipe both those divisions
out and the ultimate result is that the public will no longer receive straight
answers only programmed answers reflecting the Governor’s
message.

My concern, and one echoed
by several board members, is that there will be limitless boundaries for his
control as it may affect local districts. And, while that will surely undermine
Illinois choice to have a local control state, no one will know about it,
because his appointees will not speak contrary to the Governor, and local school
districts will likely be quieted for fear of losing the little amount of state
funds that they receive.

I still believe in the
board structure – and I reiterate that, at face value, this plan appears to
maintain it. But any continuity through the appointment of members, any
independence placed with the board, any ability of a state superintendent to
truly advocate for the needs and wants of districts are surely absent in this
plan.

People criticize education
for being too bureaucratic and encourage the concept that it be run like a
business. Well, anyone knows that a corporate board of directors is a group of
people from the outside who are independent of the Chief Executive Officer,
appointed to provide independence and oversight: This plan is certainly contrary
to that. Independence and democracy of the board structure would surely be
lost, and appointees would be mouthpieces to articulate specific talking points
that illustrate unwavering support for the Governor. The role of advocacy will
be out the door.

All of us are certainly
pressed with the decision of how we want education governed in this state. I
believe we want something better than this plan and there are plenty of people
on both sides of the fence.

The legislature repeatedly
through this session has done a remarkable job of discussing this issue and
members have succinctly and impressively articulated your concerns. I would hope
that at this hour, with just a few weeks to go, you read through the proposed
amendment and contact your legislator to again give them the input that they
need in making the best decision for your district and our
state.

The federal Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has implemented revised standards for audits
of state and local governments under Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and
Non-Profit Organizations.OMB has raised the federal expenditure threshold that determines
eligibility for sub-recipient (school administrative unit) A-133 audits from
$300,000 to $500,000 effective for fiscal years that end after
December 31, 2003.Questions
regarding the new threshold can be directed to Kim Beachy, Division of Funding
and Disbursement Services at 217-782-5256.

Many state and federal
grant projects are approaching a June 30 end date for obligating FY 2004 grant
funds.Please be aware that per
ISBE fiscal policy, all state and federal project end date extension requests
and final budget amendments must be received in the agency no later than 30
calendar days prior to the end date of the project.However, due to the fact that the May 30
due date falls on a weekend, ISBE will honor requests through the end of
business on Tuesday June 1, 2004.For a
current and complete reference of all ISBE fiscal policies and general grant
procedures please refer to the State and Federal Grant Administration Policy and
Fiscal Requirements and Procedures located at http://www.isbe.net/funding/pdf/fiscal_procedure_handbk.pdf

Check The Mail –
Reading Improvement Block Grants

The FY 05 Reading
Improvement Block Grant Application will be mailed to school districts
today.The application has a
submission due date of June 15, 2004.

Elementary district, unit
district, charter schools and elementary lab schools providing instruction in
grades k-6 are eligible. Because funds are limited to kindergarten through sixth
grade, high school districts are NOT eligible.

We encourage district
personnel to read the documents carefully in order to complete their submission
in a timely and accurate manner. Included with application are a handbook and a
Q & A document. While there are no additions to the rules that apply to the
grant this year, it is important to read the application and performance
reporting responsibilities carefully.

Several school districts
actually forfeited funds by not completing the required performance report. The
fall disbursement of the grant is contingent on receipt of the performance
report and demonstration of progress. More information on ways to prevent this
and meet this requirement can be found in the handbook.

We hope the handbook will
help rectify this situation in FY05, and that this will prevent any schools from
forfeiting funds or help us to quickly redistribute the money to eligible
schools.

We will also be including
projected allocations with the application, but the final allocations will be
based on legislative appropriation.We will notify each district in writing of its final
allocation.

For assistance in
completing the FY05 Reading Improvement Block Grant application, or for any
questions related to the Reading Improvement Block Grant, please call the
Curriculum and Instruction Division, 217/557-7323.

Legislative
Update

The following
bills passed both chambers of the legislature last week and will be sent to the
Governor for final action:

SB2769 is
designed to ensure that every student takes the Prairie State Achievement
Examination prior to receiving a high school diploma.

SB2918 creates a
new graduation incentive program. It increases the compulsory school age
to 17 (with exceptions) and creates incentives for school districts to recover
dropouts. The proposal also provides possible reimbursement for dropouts
who wish to attend vocational training programs offered through the community
college system, or approved vocational training programs.

SB3091 would
allow a joint agreement made up of school districts, or a regional
superintendent of schools on behalf of programs operated by the regional office,
to apply for a waiver or modification of mandates.

SB3109 requires
the State Board of Education to establish a system to provide for the accurate
tracking of transfer students. It provides that the system shall require that a
student be counted as a dropout in the calculation of a school's or school
district's annual student dropout rate unless the school or school district to
which the student transferred sends notification within 150 days to the school
or school district from which the student transferred documenting that the
student has enrolled in the transferee school or school district.

HB5562 amends the
Charter Schools Law of the School Code. It would allow the Chicago Board of
Education to designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of the
charter schools permitted in Chicago if the Board determines that attendance
boundaries are needed to relieve overcrowding or to better serve low-income and
at-risk students. It would also allow students residing within an attendance
boundary to be given priority for enrollment, but prohibits them from being
required to attend the charter school.

SB2360creates a student achievement improvement grant program
to provide two-year grants to school districts on the academic watch list and
other school districts that have the lowest achieving
students.

SB2362 would
ensure the recent tax amnesty funds received by many school districts will not
be included in calculation of available local
resources.

SB2732 would
establish, subject to appropriations, a three-year technology immersion pilot
project to provide a wireless laptop computer to each student, teacher, and
relevant administrator in a participating school and implement the use of
software, on-line courses, and other appropriate learning technologies that have
been shown to improve academic achievement and specified progress
measures. It provides that the State Board of Education shall select 7
(instead of 8) school districts to participate in the pilot project, one located
in the City of Chicago, 3 located in the area that makes up of the counties of
DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion of Cook County that is
located outside of the City of Chicago, and 3 located in the remainder of the
State. The bill is identical to HB4944 which has also passed both
houses.

Do you know an outstanding
educator?

Illinois is fortunate to have a cadre of distinguished teachers
and principals.These educators are
often considered for membership on advisory board and task forces, as well as
candidates for special recognition programs.Recommendations from individuals and
administrators such as you help identify educators who are, or will be, of great
value to your community and state, and who may also ultimately receive
prestigious recognition.

Do you know of a relatively
new educator that is illustrative not only of our state, but the nation’s
best?Whose lessons provide models
for others? Who distinguished him/herself above and beyond established
top-quality professional in many of our schools?We are seeking information on talented
individuals who are building level personnel with a minimum of five years in
education.They are typically
classroom teachers, as opposed to specialists, and are recognized by peers and
supervisors as unique in their growth.Occasionally, a principal or specialist is considered.Previous recognition is not
required.In fact, of special
interest are educators who are outstanding but have not received other
recognition.

Please visit http://www.isbe.net/pdf/recommendation_form.pdf and provide CONFIDENTIAL, succinct and specific
information regarding one to three candidates.All questions must be answered.Please include a one-page narrative with
the form that addresses how the candidate meets the criteria mentioned in this
letter. Complete information may be mailed to:

Ann Keran

Illinois State Board of Education,
S492

100 North
First Street

Springfield, Illinois62777-0001

Recommendations must be
received by June 15, 2004.Please
call Public Information at 217/782-4648 if you have
questions.

State Police Request for
School Site Information

The Illinois State Police
is compiling school information from every public and private school in
Illinois for the development of a web/CD program accessible by police and fire personnel
only.They are
requesting copies of both the public and private school site plans for all
schools in Illinois.This
programs platform will enable police and fire to have school site plans
immediately available to better respond to any type of situation.To make data entry manageable and
consistent, they would like to get the following
information:

1.School district list of all
schools, addresses, and phone numbers for each
school

2.Clearly labeled site plan,
emergency plan, or blueprint, 8 1/2 X 11 copy, for each school building in the
district.Include parking lot
information if available.

3.District and County name on the
front of the envelope containing the plans and district
information.